Analysis of Spatial Nonuniform Behaviors of Subcooled Flow Boiling Employing Euler–Lagrange Approach

Abstract

Researching subcooled flow boiling behaviors is critical for achieving efficient heat exchange in engineering processes involving heat generation. This study endeavors to apply a wall boiling model within the Euler−Lagrange framework to evaluate the nonuniform dynamics of subcooled flow boiling in the vertically oriented channels. The simulated dynamics are observed to well reproduce the experimentally captured data. The computed results revealed that boiling can facilitate maintaining a uniform wall temperature distribution and mitigate wall temperature rising owing to the reduced convective heat flux components, which are linked to an increase in bubble influence area radio. The heating wall can be divided into two or three regions under varying wall heat fluxes. The improved heat exchange performance in each region is related to the enhanced fluid turbulence and/or bubble influence area. Additionally, the linear enlargement of bubble size along the channel is prompted by a shift toward larger bubbles and a decrease in small ones. This work may offer meaningful simulation strategies and novel perspectives for subcooled flow boiling.